Preet Bharara

Three men have been charged criminally and civilly for allegedly defrauding investors in a scheme where they sent out e-mails encouraging recipients to buy “penny” stocks whereupon the defendants would confidentially sell their own shares – and made what regulators called “a substantial profit.”

Over the last several years, the DOJ has been heavily criticized for not bringing prosecutions of senior bank executives. But there is every reason to believe that, going forward, the DOJ will prioritize holding individuals accountable for corporate crimes.